Kyrie Irving - an NBA player with the Brooklyn Nets - caused outrage last week with his promotion of the grossly antisemitic documentary "Hebrews to Negroes: Wakeup Black America," based on Ronald Dalton Jr.’s book series of the same name.
Both the book and film push a horrifying agenda of the Black Hebrew Israelite (BHI) lie that Black Americans are the true descendants of the biblical Israelites and that modern day Jews are imposters who stole the religious heritage of Black people, engaging in cover-ups to prevent Black people from knowing their "true" identity.
Ronald Dalton Jr.’s film: Hebrews to Negroes: Wakeup Black America
"Hebrews to Negroes: Wakeup Black America" also includes claims of global Jewish conspiracies to oppress and defraud Black people, allegations that Jews are in part responsible for the transatlantic slave trade, and the claim that Jews falsified the history of the Holocaust to "conceal their nature and protect their status and power."
Dalton's narrative amplifies longstanding antisemitic tropes about Jewish power, control, and greed, including false claims that Jews control the media, and disputes the identity of modern Jews claiming they are "religious converts" who descended from the Khazars and have no historical connection to the land of Israel. Dalton uses "experts" like known antisemite Henry Ford to make his claims and falsely attributes quotes to Adolf Hitler throughout the book (an example is pictured below).
The above statement has been falsified in full and shown in Dalton's documentary
As outrage and pressure mounted, Irving agreed to make a "donation" to the Anti-Defamation League, who ultimately refused the financial gift when the attempt at education failed. Despite this and the ongoing antisemitic vitriol that followed Irving's tweet from his fans and followers, he still refused to apologize.
This wasn't the first time Irving promoted 'Black Hebrew Israelite' antisemitic rhetoric, tweeting in March 2021: "You better stop playing with History. You better stop lying to your people Europe and America. You better stop feeding BS to the innocent children of God. The Original people are returning, and this time God will intervene at every corner of the Earth."
On Thursday November 3rd, the Brooklyn Nets announced that Kyrie Irving would be suspended without pay indefinitely, for a minimum of five games, and until meeting certain requirements. Separately, NBA Commissioner David Silver released a statement demanding an apology from Irving and announced the two will be having a meeting the following week.
FINALLY, after receiving an indefinite suspension without pay, criticism from advocacy groups nationwide, two botched press conferences, and a week of public outcry, Irving issued an apology. However, many critics noted the inauthenticity of the apology, specifically where Irving still managed to spread more 'Black Hebrew Israelite' antisemitic rhetoric by addressing G-d as "YHWH."
As current and former NBA players began speaking up against Irving and the consequences, Nike announced late Friday evening it was suspending its endorsement deal with him effective immediately, noting they “condemn any form of antisemitism.”
We must explore beyond Kyrie Irving's promotion of the film and ask ourselves why platforms like Amazon are monetizing propaganda like this in the first place? This film denies the Holocaust, promotes Adolf Hitler, and spreads the false conspiracy that Jews controlled the African slave trade. It's nothing but revisionist history entrenched with antisemitic lies that do one thing - fuel hatred and violence against the Jewish people.
StopAntisemitism need YOUR help! Email Amazon and demand the documentary and book "Hebrews to Negroes: Wakeup Black America" is removed.